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In my last post I spoke of the Romanov family and the profound effect certain members of that family have had on my life. In some ways this post is a follow-up because my experience with them — and my years of reading about Russia — led me to a curiosity in the Orthodox Church. On May 1st-2nd the church celebrates Pascha, Orthodox Easter according to the old calendar. It is an all-night service and something that I have heard all Christians should experience at least once. I’ve made up my mind to attend this year’s Pascha service and see it for myself.
A few weeks ago, shortly after the amazing experiences I wrote about having with certain members of the Romanov saints I awoke late one night and after lying there for a short time, as clear as day an adult young woman’s voice next to my bed said “Pascha.” One would expect to be startled but curiously I wasn’t. I drifted off to sleep again wondering what that could have meant. This was shortly before the current standoff between the US/NATO/Ukraine and Russia.
Today Vladimir Putin gave his annual version of the State of the Union Address in which he primarily outlined Russia’s future of embracing tradition, family and the church. The last ten minutes of his speech was devoted to foreign policy in which he addressed the current tensions between Russia and the west. He stated that Russia does not want to burn bridges but that if certain forces in the world do they will be met with a proportionate response. He then went on to name every weapon in Russia’s arsenal and said that crossing their ultimate red line would not be tolerated. Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up their efforts to get people out of war-torn Ukraine, offering passports to anyone wanting to escape into Russia.
But now tensions have escalated again with the planned assassination of Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, and his entire family (eerily reminiscent of the Romanovs) by the Belarus Armed Forces with the backing of the CIA during the May 9th Victory Day Parade celebrating the defeat of the Third Reich. Two conspirators met with Belarussian military officers in a Moscow restaurant but were being surveilled by the Russian FSB, who just last week foiled the assassination attempt and evidence of the CIA’s involvement (discussed by the men during their surveillance) was given to the US government. The response has been silence in the west. No media coverage at all, which reeks of complicity. Since then the US Ambassador to Russia has been ejected from the country.
This is nothing new. The CIA has overseen the assassination of world leaders and replacing them with fascist dictators who will do the US’s bidding for decades. This is what they ideally want to do with Russia but by either tremendous incompetence or the protection of God, they can’t seem to get it done. (For a real mind warp research Operation Gladio, a joint operation between the CIA, the Italian mafia and the Vatican that eventually resulted in Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s rise as Pope Francis I).
Why Ukraine? Because of the rich oil fields that flow through it. Hence the desire to stop the construction of the Nordstream 2 oil pipeline between Russia and Germany. With the completion of that pipeline, Ukraine fades into oblivion and the US loses a vital resource. A joint pipeline between Russia and Syria established in the late 2000’s is part of the reason why the US went to war there to topple Assad, then why they toppled Ukraine and now why they tried and failed to topple Belarus. Currently the Nordstream pipeline is 95%-97% complete with Russia wanting to complete it by the May 9th Victory Day celebrations. That leaves a very narrow window of time for the US/NATO/Ukraine to do something incredibly stupid and provoke the 150,000 Russian troops amassed at the border.
So is Pascha it? The beginning of the great war? Or the escalation of events that could start it? Or something else? I don’t know. I just know that hearing that word spoken that night and the confusion it brought up in me suddenly feels more and more clarified. Could something happen? It could. Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t.
As for Ukraine, the country has become a war-torn hellhole, very much like Russia in the 1990s after the end of the USSR and its only chance for survival may be to reintegrate with Russia because the west seems content to bleed it dry. Maybe it’s time to swallow your pride and go back to where you came from.